1. Field of the Invention
The invention is concerned with a method and device to assess deformation of a body by a precise examination of how an influx of energy due to loading causes a deformation.
2. Related Technology
Several procedures are known by which the deformation of a body due to action of forces is assessed.
The known procedures are based on the method to represent the body through a grid of nodes; for every grid node the change of the relative position due to the action of forces is assessed.
These procedures are rather cumbersome for complex body shapes and especially for very precise solutions at small relative scale. For example, the modelling of deformation of a vehicle due to a crash requires an extremely high calculation power.
Although the known procedures employ mathematical models that are in principle fairly simple—the employed mathematical models are essentially based on the work of Euler in the 18th century—there are no procedures known so far that differ fundamentally from the procedures based on Euler.
The inventor has developed a theoretical approach to the theory of deformation which are presented in a number of freely available articles.
The first of these articles, “An approach to deformation theory based on Boyle's law. I. The concept, and kinematics of pure shear” offers a concept to assess the kinematics of deformation of a solid based on an adaptation of the ideal equation of state PV=nRT. This theory makes it possible to consider deformation involving both isotropic and anisotropic materials and/or boundary conditions.
Further developments to the kinematics of deformation have been presented in the article “An approach to deformation theory based on Boyle's law. II. Kinematics of simple shear, and some energetic considerations.”
The necessity to consider a full deformation in three dimensions even for very simple geometric setups is explained in the article “An approach to deformation theory based on Boyle's law. III. Three-dimensional properties of plane-strain deformation: origin of conjugate joint sets, sheath folds in plastic shear zones, and turbulence in viscous flow.”